‘Drone attack’ kills three at Abu Dhabi airport

Three people were killed and six wounded in an apparent drone attack on Abu Dhabi on Monday, UAE police have said. Yemen’s Houthi rebels have announced a strike “deep” in Emirati territory.

Three fuel trucks exploded in the industrial Mussafah area near storage facilities used by oil firm ADNOC, after which a “minor fire” broke out at a construction site at Abu Dhabi International Airport, the Emirati WAM news agency reported, citing police.

Preliminary investigation suggests that the blast and the fire were caused by a drone attack.

Police said that “no significant” damage was done to the area, later adding that two Indian nationals and a Pakistani national were killed, while six people were wounded.

Yemeni media reported that the Houthis had announced a military operation “deep in the UAE” and promised to reveal more details later on Monday.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree previously said that the rebels were confronting “a wide advance of the UAE mercenaries” and Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) fighters.

The Saudi-led coalition intervened in the Yemeni civil war in 2015 on behalf of ousted President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. The collation carried out bombing raids into the Houthi-controlled areas, while the rebels responded by firing rockets and sending armed drones into Saudi territory.

In 2019, a drone attack claimed by Houthis caused massive fires at several Saudi oil refineries operated by state-owned company Saudi Aramco. 

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